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Supervision for Esthetician performing laser

I enjoy your email blasts very much. I have a question regarding non-physician personnel performing “appropriate” treatments such as IPL and minimally invasive lasers. Does the physician need to be on site at the time? What is our responsibility and culpability when treatments are performed in our office but we may be off at the hospital performing surgery or even at home?

Thanks.

Dr. S

Answer:

There is no supervision requirement to speak of because you are talking about (presumably) an appropriate licensed and trained person rendering services within the scope of his/her license. Exposure would be as if any other individual were rendering appropriate services at your office – as the owner you may be dragged in, but supervision is not required. If the individual were to provide inappropriate services – services outside the scope of their licensure – that would be a different story. You would then potentially have an issue with licensure with an allegation that you allowed unauthorized practice of medicine.

Please be advised that as the Department of Health and Department of Education in New York have in the past tried to limit who can provide laser services, it is important to note this answer is, to the best of my knowledge, accurate as of the date first written above. It is necessary to check in on this topic at regular intervals.